Process of obtaining effective foot impressions and product thereof



PROCESS OF OBTAINING EFFECTIVE FOOT IMPRESSIONS AND PRODUCTS THEREOFFiled Oct. 30, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 13 Alan EMwrm ATTORN YOctl 24,1939. A. E. MURRAY 2,177,304

PROCESS OF OBTAINING EFFECTIVE FOOT IMPRESSIONS AND PRODUCTS THEREOFFiled Oct. 30, 1936- 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I INVENTOR AZan l1. Mayra ATTORZEYPatented Oct. 24, 1939 FATE Fi lCE PROCESS OF OBTAINING EFFECTIVE FOOTIMPRESSIONS AND PRODUCT THEREOF Alan E. Murray, New York, N. Y.

Application October 30, 1936, Serial No. 108,405

3 Claims.

My invention relates particularly to a process and product thereof, forobtaining effective foot impressions or, in other words, effectivemolded contours of the foot.

j The process hereinis an improvement over the subject matter of mypreviousapplication upon appliance, Ser. No. 750,052, filed October 26,1934. Hitherto the greatest difiiculty hasbeen found in obtaining aduplication of the contours of the IQ foot with sufiicient accuracy toprovide any foot correctives or supports or shoes that would besufficiently correct to, in fact, by the use thereof, restore the footto its normal condition of health. Previous methods have been found, inpractice, to is be not only uncomfortable because of such inadeqacy butalso not to serve the purpose of restoring the foot to its natural ornormal condition. It is found that this could not be done by merelyarbitrarily pressing the foot into an altered o position approaching itsnormal shape because of the fact that such pressures were necessarilytransmitted, not only through the soft tissues encasing the bones of thefoot, but also because of lack of uniformity of proper distribution offorces 25 applied in so altering the shape of the foot. 1 havediscovered that an effective corrective for the foot could be obtainedby applying pressure to the under part of the foot sufficient to alterthe position of the bones, etc., of the foot to the 30 intended andcorrect or'natural position while providing a lock or hanger conformingto the opposite portion, as, for example, the upper portion of. the footconforming to the changed position on such opposite side and whichnaturally con- 35 forms itself not only to the readjusted position ofthe bones of the foot but also to the natural position of the softtissues of that opposite or upper portion of the foot. I have,furthermore, discovered that when such lock or hanger has 40 hardened orset to conform itself to such opposite or upper portion of the foot theother or under portion of the foot on which the pressure was initiallyexerted could then be accurately duplicated as to the contours thereofby applying a hydraulic 5, material thereto which itself receives auniform resistance 'or pressure from not only the bones of the foot inthe readjustedposition but also the soft tissues covering the bones ofthe under portion of the foot. This hydraulic material, fur- 50thermore, when hardened or set, provides an accurate duplication of thesurfaces of the foot at the under portion thereof in the intended read-J'usted position of the foot. Furthermore, if desired, the original lockor hanger at the top of 55 the foot may then be discarded and a newduplication of the contours of the upper portion of the foot can betaken while the foot is positioned in the accurate hardened hydraulicmaterial on the under part of the foot above referred to, thusobtaining, instead of the original lock or hanger, 5 a hardened contourcontaining a surface which conforms to the upper portion of the footwith the utmost accuracy. Positives or further negatives, separable inany convenient manner, may be made therefrom and it will be understoodthat any desired foot supports or enclosures or shoes can be madeconforming to the contours of said positives or negatives, thusattaining, as above pointed out, foot supports or enclosures which areso completely exact in conforming to the readjusted position of the footand taking into account the pressures unavoidably exerted by the softtissues enclosing the bones of the foot, such that thereby not onlycomfortable but effective correctives are obtainable which can be usedto restore the foot to its normal condition of health.

While my invention is cap-able of being carried out in many differentways, for the purpose of illustration I have described hereinafter onlycertain ways of carrying out the same, and which refer to the drawingsherein, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation illustrating the position and means forholding the leg and foot initially;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the foot, when so placed, within atapered pan just before constructing the lock or hanger on the uppersurface of the foot;

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the lock or hanger produced therein;

Fig. 4 is a similar View showing the foot with the lock or hangerremoved from the pan;

Fig. 5 shows the pan partially filled with the hydraulic material orplaster mass prior to the insertion of the foot and lock or hangertherein;

Fig. 6 is a similar view showing the formation of the body of materialagainst the lower surface of the foot and hanger;

Fig. 7 is a cross-section of a foot that has been formed by the ordinaryuse of the foot against a flat surface support;

Fig. 8 is a cross-section of the foot shown as unsupported on anysurface;

Fig. 9 is a cross-section of the foot in the position supportedhydraulically in carrying out my method;

Fig. 10 is a. view of a metallic arch support which may be made inaccordance with my invention, as shown in Fig. 6 of my application uponProcess of producing physiological shoes tion involving the same, Ser.No. 43,658, filed October 5, 1935;

Fig. 12 is a view of a shoe made out of molded rubber, in carrying outmy invention, and which may be latex, with or without fibres, such aswool,

cotton, etc., therein, vulcanized in a colloidal state, known as Vultex;

Fig. 13 is a vertical section of a flask used in obtaining the shoe inFig. 12;

Fig. 14 is a rear view of the 3-piece flask in Fig. 12.

In carrying out my method, for example, a leg I may be supported withthe calf of the leg in a yoke or cradle 2 carried by the upper swiveledend of a thumbscrew 3 screw-threaded into a rigid bracket 4. The foot isthen placed above a board 5 on which a heel block 6 rests which measuresthe height of the heel of the foot in the position of the ordinary shoeheel while the instep is made to rest against a support in the form of alump of clay I made slightly plastic by wetting the same, while the balland toes of the foot occupy the level of the front portion of the saidboard 5. It will be understood that in placing the foot in this mannerthe foot, by means of its underneath support, is given a placement whichmay be called arbitrary but which is, in fact, a readjustment upwardlyof the relative positions of the bones of the foot in a normal foot orin an abnormal or deformed foot until, according to the medical skill ofthe operator, the foot bones will have attained the normal or correctposition of the particular foot which it would have occupied before anydeformation due to body weight supported by the foot or due to misuse ofthe foot, and into a position which the bones of the said foot wouldnormally occupy if the normal foot were supported in a hydraulicsupport; in other words, an ideal position. This is intended,accordingly, to give to the surface of the tissues at the top of thefoot its ideal contour of the normal foot when the foot is inbody-supporting position. The board 5, heel block 6, lumpof clay I andfoot as located above, are positioned as described, with a weight 8varying from nothing to the weight of the body, resting on the knee,within a pan 9 having outwardly flared sides [0 around all sides of thesame. Dry sand is now introduced into the pan 9 until it reaches theposition of the dotted line H in Fig. 2. That is to say the body of thesand is arranged so that all around the foot and in between the lowerportions of the toes,-and over the board 5, and around the block 6 andclay I, the edge of the sand ends just slightly below the under-cut linerunning around the foot. By the term under-cut line I mean the linewhich divides the under-curvature of the foot from the rest of the foot.The outer portion of the body of the sand is flared upwardly andoutwardly from the foot to the edge of the pan around three sides of thepan while at the front of the pan the sand is flared upwardly to form athickened bank at the front of the pan as shown in Fig. 2. The insidesurface of the pan, as well as the surface of the foot, will have beengreased with any desired material, as, for example, Vaseline, beforeintroducing the sand, in order to prevent the contents from sticking tothe pan, etc. A look or hanger I2, in the form of a plaster mass, is nowformed, filling the cavity in the pan above. the sand and entirelyaround the foot up to apoint just above the ankle, by pouring into thepan, in a semi-liquid state, a quantity of plaster of Paris mixed withwater in the usual way, or any other similar way, and troweling theplaster up to the height referred to, as shown in Fig. 3, while theplaster is setting. The plaster, when set, forms a lock or hanger l2covering the top surface of the foot slightly below the under-cut lineand including and enveloping the ankle joint and overlapping slightlythe edges of the pan to form a registry with the pan edge but nottouching the front edge of the pan where a gap or space is left as shownin Figs. 3 and 6. While the plaster is semi-soft the lock or hanger iscut into with a knife or similar instrument, part of the way down alongone or morevertical planes, as, for example, the plane constituting thelongitudinal vertical median plane of the foot and another verticalplane at right angles to the same opposite the ankle. This is done toweaken the lock or hanger along these planes enabling it to be separatedalong said planes when hard. Any inadvertent excess plaster beyond Whatis desired above, may be now cut away and the foot elevated to withdrawit with the lock or hanger l2, the pan being slightly tapped to loosenit, by which means the lock or hanger will be readily removed, leavingthe lock or hanger I2 on the foot, as shown in Fig. 4. This lock orhanger l2, which fits very accurately into the delicate contours oftheupper portion of the foot tissues and maintains the relative positionwhich has been given to the bones as Well as the consequent contours ofthe upper tissues adjacent thereto, provides a baffle or positioningmember. It is, however, true that this lock or hanger does contain, to avery slight extent, due to the soft tissues, a record of errorsunavoidably introduced by pressing upwardly, as above, the bones throughthe agency of the intervening soft tissues, which errors may, however,be entirely removed, as later described herein. The formation of thislook or hanger, however, constitutes an important step in the procedureby which the ideal physiological contour is attained. Furthermore, incarrying out my process I may utilize materials in the succeeding stepswhich are progressively more fluent and hydraulic in their action, sothat in the process herein, which may be designated as molding by tissuetension, there takes place a translation of contour as obtained byarbitrary force to obtain an ideal foot position, intocontours which areultimately formed by innertissue tension. In this way, any harsh angularelements of contour introduced by the initial arbitrary placement, asfrom the. mode of supporting the foot, are eliminated. It will be seenthat while the tissues of the foot approximate a liquid softness, at thesame time the hard, rigid elements of the foot, including the bones andligaments, must be positioned in accordance with the requirements ofwalking and the ideal correction introduced by manipulative-medicine andyet so as to be able to obtain the contours of the soft tissues of thefoot in their undistorted shape, as, for example, by obtaining anelevated arch of the foot, with slightly decreased foot length andcoordinate slight changes in the toes, etc., in certain instances. Withthe lock or hanger I2 thus carried on the top of the foot,

the former, Which has a recess-molded therein fitting around the top ofthe pan, is now pressed down so as to fit over the upper edges of thepan containing a liquid or fiowable plaster of Paris and water mixture13, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the foot thus occupying a position spacedfrom the bottom of the pan the same as before but with the board 5,block 6 and lump of clay 7 removed. When the foot and lock or hanger I 2are thus inserted in the body of liquid plaster, the excess of thelatter is forced out of the front of the pan at I4 as shown in Fig. 6due to the hydraulic pressure developed in the pan by confining theplaster in the space between the foot, lock or hanger and walls of thepan. An equal pressure will thus be developed by the liquid l3' in alldirections, enabling the contours of the adjacent surface of the foot tobe duplicated with the greatest precision. This liquid l3 will not onlythus exert an equal pressure upon the different parts of the footsurface but, due to its being confined in this way, will somewhatapproximate the average pressure obtained by walking in soft mud,although the pressure in soft mud would not be uniform. This pressurewill force the foot against the inside of the lock or hanger l2,bringing the foot intimately into contact with the contours which havebeen reproduced there, with resulting reflective action on the contoursnow obtained from the bottom of the foot. The hydraulic medium thuspresses the foot upwardly and also reproduces in a negative form thecontours of the lower portion of the foot while exerting the equalpressure at the different portions thereof. The hydraulic liquid willnow fit the foot, the foot having been meantime in a state ofsuspension, but under pressure which has been equalized. A mean contourwill thus have been attained, embodying the ideal of supporting the footwhen in action in soft soil, sod or sand,when the foot is in action,asthe pressure of the foot downward by the hand of the operator applyingforce to the lock or hanger thereon, coupled with the rush of the fluidplaster, contributes to the attainment of that ideal. In this connectionit will also be noted that the forming of the lock or hanger around theankle joint acts to locate the same definitely in all directions withregard to the foot. This will in fact, if desired, permit the use of alock or hanger which has its lower margin slightly above the undercutline running around the margin of the foot, which may be of importancein forming metallic supporting members, such as arches, as, for example,of the general type set forth in my applications Ser. Nos. 34,888 and43,658 above referred to (see Figs. 10 and 11 herein). Also, in thisstep of forming the body of liquid l3 or any moldable material, as, forexample, any plaster of Paris, though the best results are obtained witha liquid, against the lower portion of the foot, the location of thelock or hanger I 2 around the ankle of the foot will assist in locatingthe foot, and the operator can press his fingers and palm of the handunder the sole of the foot just previous to the introduction of the footinto the liquid l3, the hand being withdrawn as the liquid plaster isforced up to the front of the pan.

' This will assure the foot being accurately placed against the lock orhanger i2. Also, the amount of pressure exerted by the foot into theliquid I3 can be controlled by the operator according to the physicalcharacteristics of the foot and the liquid, and the actual impression ofthe foot in the liquid can be arranged to take place at the desiredpoint in the setting of the liquid plaster, which may be chosen as amore or less quick setting plaster, as desired. Also, the size of thehole left at the front of the pan for the extrusion of the excess liquidcan be changed to contribute to the control of said pressure. When theliquid l3 has set the lock or hanger l2 can be removed by cracking italong the planes where it has been cut, the same being readily removedbecause of the thin layer of sand adhering to the undersurface of thelock from the body of sand originally in the pan 9. There is thusobtained the impression of the lower part of the foot in the body ofmaterial l3 which can be used for producing body-weight bearing membersor thin arch supports of swedged metal or any other material if thisalone is desired to be made, and in connection with which, of course, apositive of plaster or metal may be formed from the said negative I 3,from which positive the said members or supports may be produced in anyknown way. If, however, a product as, for example, a form-fitting shoe,is desired, a positive cast of the whole foot is needed. For thispurpose, after the removal of the lock or hanger [2 the foot is placedin the reviously mentioned negative E3 of the lower portion of the foot.This negative will now act as a baffle through the tissues of the footin a way similar to that previously described. For this purpose a highenclosure [5, rectangular in shape and fitting on the upper edge of thepan 8, it utilized by flowing a liquidplaster of Paris thereon similarto the above after the sides of the extension l5 and the upper surfaceof the cast l3 have been suitably greased, or even by troweling on tothe upper portion of the foot when so placed, a flowable plaster ofParis of mudlike consistency. The parting of the two halves i5 and I!may be brought about, if they are to be divided along a vertical planepassing through the ankle, by dividing along a longitudinal plane of thefoot, by a suitable partial previous incision therein before being set,and they may be removed after setting in the way as already described.If desired still greater accuracy may be attained by discarding thelower negative and using the upper negative as a bafile to cast a newlower negative in the same way, and again if desired the newest lowernegative can be used as a baflle while casting against the foot anothernew upper negative and this process can be repeated until the desiredcomplete elimination of errors is attained.

When, thereafter, the foot is removed from the sections, the impressionpieces may be put together to form a resulting flask within which anideal positive of plaster or metal of the foot may be produced bypouring in plaster of Paris or any other suitable material from whichthe same is desired to be made, and from this positive of the foot,forming a 3-piece external flask with two lateral surroundingshoe-shaped enclosures l8 and HM form a shoe to conform to the externalshape of the desired shoe shape having a parting line as shown in theheavy line a in Fig. 14 and an upper cover l8b, as well as a core I80 inthe form of a positive cast of the foot flared at the top to hold thepositive cast and the part I81) having a filling opening [8d as in Figs.13 and 14. The form-fitting shoe as shown in Fig. 12 may be made fromvulcanized rubber, vulcanized colloidal latex known as Vultex, or anyother suitable material, liquid or comminuted solid from which cut-outsI90. may be removed thereafter for ventilation, etc., the details ofsuch a molded shoe [9 being set forth in my application aforesaid, Ser.No. 34,888. In forming said shoe, the latter will be given a heel 20,higher at 2| at the forward inside point next to the instep than at therear of the heel and higher than at the front outside portion of theheel, and a recess 22 beneath the bending line of the toes to enable thesole of the completed shoe to grip the ground and cause the shoe tolengthen slightly in bending. This will make an ideal sport shoe also. Aseries of stock sizes and shapes maybe produced in th s way for types offeet, also, which would, of course,

be much better form-fitting for the different feet of individuals thanmerely the changes in length and width with fiat soles that havehitherto been available.

While I have described my invention above in detail I wish it to beunderstood that many changes may be made therein without departing fromthe spirit of the same.

I claim:

1. The process which comprises applying pressure to the under-surface ofthe foot to give the boney structure a desired position, applying to theopposite side of the foot a material adapted to set into a hard masswhile conforming to the contour of said opposite portion of the foot,causing the material to harden, removing the pressure from the firstmentioned portion of the foot and pressing said first mentioned portionof the foot in a soft viscous material adapted to set, while saidhardened mass of material remains on said opa posite side of the foot.

2. The process which comprises applying pressure to the under-surface ofthe foot, by supporting the foot on a heel piece, a plastic materialopposite the arch and a supporter for the ball of the foot, to give thehoney structure a desired position, applying to the opposite side of thefoot a material adapted to set into a hard mass while conforming to thecontour of said opposite portion of the foot, causing the material toharden, removing the pressure from the first mentioned portion of thefoot and pressing said first mentioned portion of the foot in a softviscous material adapted to set while said hardened mass of materialremains on said opposite side of v the foot.

3. The process which comprises applying pressure to the under-surface ofthe foot to give the boney structure a desired position, by supportingthe foot on a heel piece, a plastic material opposite the arch and asupporter for the ball of the foot in a body of sand extending to apoint just below the under-cut line of the foot, applying to theopposite side of the foot a material adapted to set into a hard masswhile conforming to the contour of said opposite portion of the foot,causing the material to harden, removing the pressure from the firstmentioned portion of the foot and pressing said first mentioned portionof the foot in a soft viscous material adapted to set while saidhardened mass of material remains on 80 said opposite side of the foot.

ALAN E. MURRAY.

